Review of Trese Volume 1 By James Bacon

Trese created by Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo, is an exceptional comic, a well-drawn and brilliantly told horror comic, mixing police procedural with wonderful elements of magic, myth, and the metaphysical. Action packed, thoughtful and mature, set in Manilla where we follow our protagonist, Trese, as she solves specialised crimes.

Alexandra Trese is, erm, a consultant to the police, a consulting detective of the unexplained and magical, one might say, and she has a legacy. But Trese is called upon by the police when something is not at all right, when someone long dead is found freshly killed, or deaths that verge on the unexplained occur, and it sets Trese on her trail, seeking out those who would use mermaid bones to help kill someone, avenge their loved ones by taking on incredible powers, or break the rules and upset and take what should not be taken. Everything about this comic, gives a real sense of both place and genre, the first story ‘Murder on Balete Drive’ places the reader into the noir crime genre smartly, and then we soon see within a few pages the abilities of Trese, whether it is calling on creatures to help her understand, or summoning bodyguardlike companions, the Kambal, with her phone; dedicated and brutal, who slaughter men who are child-eating monsters. There is no need for overly lengthy tales here, crime stories are often best told short, though it requires much skill, and in comics, real ability, and here Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo achieve this in an accomplished and polished way, fine practitioners in both art and story. The underworld has a deeper darker meaning, but there is a something also very beautiful about how the first story twisted, the sadness and desperation of those involved is portrayed very sympathetically as there is a nice turn in direction, one expects more fantastical, and then we see a very human quandary, a really sympathetic and troubling tragic situation. So very thoughtful and an element which permeates the writing, and which demonstrates a truer understanding of humanity, something that great storytellers need. In the first volume, we get four stories, and they are beyond brilliant. I was totally hooked by the neatness and yet complexity of the stories, enticing readers into a world, deftly drawing one in, but not overwhelming the reader with too much, or overkilling and making the stories feel too removed. Manila felt amazing anyhow, and the reader gets a feel for the city, and also what one hopes is the cultural wondrousness of myth and story from there, leaving the reader to excitedly

ponder what influences and legends may have been drawn upon by the writer and artist. There is a lovely balance to the stories and then we are treated with some typed pages from Professor Alexander Trese’s journal, with some extra art, and this just adds so nicely, who is Alexander I wondered, and are the notes connected to actual legends of the Philippines. I went from pondering to excitedly seeking out information. A quick search does indeed show that there is urban legend about Balete Drive and Philippines Insider has an article on the myths. It is noted that various legends and folklore have circulated since the 1950s that the street was haunted and that Filipino folklore, balete trees are believed to be a "home for spirits and mysterious creatures" and that the darkness and quiet of the area has contributed. In rules of the race, we find that street racing has led to some unexpected occurrences, and Alexandra is called in, and soon follows the tribal footprints that give her the hint she needs to seek out a magical youth gone slightly astray. Along the journey we meet two spirits, from the Abagat and Haiman tribes who really are quite different, and this is something I loved about the writing, we get a skewed, modern or local take on an aspect that one could imagine going a different way, and it adds to the freshness of the story telling.

I loved the brilliant skill of drawing racing cars that was demonstrated here. Racing is a genre in its own right and to have styles, the sense of speed and acceleration and action come across so well, was a lovely change of pace but expertly executed, and the vehicles looked spot on. I drifted and wondered whether KaJo Baldisimo could have drawn Nissan GT-R, Supra, Skyline, but they were right to have a Porshe and Ferrari in the final race, they are desirable cars everywhere, and so it all fits in really well, authentic, in the mechanicals as well as the mystical and magical. The journal entry about the Tiklabang tribe and the Wind tribes, just added more insight and background to what was already a very exciting story.

Throughout the art is wonderful. The map is nice, I like maps in comics, it helps for placement, and each story starts with a map, and it is a real place. The artistic style is fabulous, a hint of manga, with a fine line, greys, white and hatching and use of black and white to a really exquisite level. I was well impressed with some of the ways KaJo Baldisimo uses outline to reframe the story, one in particular had the story happening within the outline of Trese, and was very pleasing and ran very well. This ability to be nicely unique and inventive with the art, yet balance it with a flow to the storytelling is difficult, and here is it accomplished brilliantly, always enhancing the story, adding to artistic delight to what could be a pedestrian moment. Action is captured very well, as is the sense of movement and facial reaction is important to the comic, all elements that KaJo Baldisimo really draws well, the style is suited to the comic, it is not overly dark, but at the right times, we get immersed into a noir feeling, which sits very well. As each story is told, we learn more, about the Kambal, loyal protectors who call Trese “Bossing,” about Trese who owns and runs a club called Diabolical, and about relationships between the worlds, and where as in here, they collide, sometimes with ferocity, and yet the stories and development of the character of Trese for readers is cleverly gentle and subtle, there are always human elements and it feels grounded. We see that

Captain Guerrero and Trese work well together. The final story in Volume 1 really had me amazed, as it was again a contemplation of human tragedy, a terrible crime and how love drives on revenge, and how human is to be driven to anger and upset and also how horrendous humans are, and it is a harder story, but that shows its strength. My amazement was that in essence behind it, there was another genre here, the explanation in the journal notes shows the background: to the Adarna stone and it was amazing to find the link to the story of the “Ibong Adarna.” This is a fresh and different interpretation or progression however, and so we see Trese in a potential post -modern legendary super hero story and again, I was just so impressed and pleased, and it was yet sad and brutal. The comic began as a self-published project between KaJo Baldisimo and Budjette Tan in 2005, but they had a relationship for some time and had worked previously. It is amazing to see the journey this comic has been on, and how some have had great faith in it, thankfully, and that Ablaze brought it to readers. There are four volumes to enjoy, and Ablaze the publisher produced a Free Comic Book Day Comic in 2021 and 2022, which can still be found, and definitely should be sought out. There is something very unique here, in an exquisite way, and these are thoroughly enjoyable comics.